Presentation
Mésanges Films is an independent Tunisian film production company based in Tunis, created
in 2018 by Afef Ben Mahmoud in order to produce first Backstage, a fiction project
and then other original and innovative fiction and documentary projects.
The aim of Mésanges Films is to carry out cinematographic projects while defending an
auteur cinema that forges links between the two shores of the Mediterranean and beyond.
In early 2019, Mésanges Films produced its first feature film The Scarecrows by established
Tunisian director Nouri Bouzid in which Afef also plays one of the lead roles. The film had
its world premiere in the Official Selection in the Sconfini section at the Venice Film Festival
in August 2019 and won the Human Rights award.
Mésanges Films then coproduced with Lycia Productions Backstage, a first feature
codirected by Afef Ben Mahmoud and Khalil Benkirane which premiered in competition in Giornate degli Autori in Venice 2023 and won the Cinema & Arts Award.
Mésanges Films is presently developing Tkallem by Nejib Kthiri
Producteurs
A Portrait of a Dedicated Creative
Afef Ben Mahmoud
CEO
Following studies in management at the École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in Tunis, Afef Ben Mahmoud obtained a diploma in Directing and Scriptwriting in 2008, followed by a Master of Research in Image Design at the École Supérieure des Sciences et Technologies du Design in Tunis.
In parallel with her studies, Afef began directing films with three shorts and a documentary, while at the same time devoting herself from an early age to an artistic career as a dancer and actress. She began her career taking part in musical shows such as La Nouba and El Hadhra under the direction of Fadhel Jaziri. Since then, Afef Ben Mahmoud has devoted herself to her acting career, taking part in numerous theatrical, film and television productions.
Afef held lead roles under major Tunisian directors, including Nouri Bouzid’s Making Of and The Scarecrows, and lately in Streams by Mehdi Hmili, receiving awards for Best Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2021, then at Vues d’Afrique and at Pluriel.les in 2023.
Recently, Afef set up her own production company, Mésanges Films, and produced Nouri Bouzid’s latest film, The Scarecrows. The film had its world premiere in the official selection of the 2019 Venice Film Festival in the Sconfini section. Since then, Afef coproduced and codirected with Khalil Benkirane her first feature, Backstage which premiered in competition in Giornate degli Autori in Venice 2023, winner of the Cinema & Arts Award.